Library Board Reasserts Its Authority Over the Library Director

9/9/2025 Special Meeting
Present: Chair, Henrietta Horvay (online), Josephine Jones, Johanna Kimball, Lynette Miller, Patricia Sanders, Anne Green.

A Special meeting of the Library Board met to discuss policies and review applications for the Library Director (none received to date) and Library Aide positions which were reviewed in executive session.

Discussion before executive session concerned sending a communication to the Board of Selectmen to clarify its position regarding library governance and personnel, particularly discipline of staff. Board members Lynette Miller and Josephine Jones referenced three Library By-laws—Articles I, VII, and IX—that they said grant authority to the Board. They also mentioned changes made to the job description of the Director of the Library to codify the Board’s role as supervisor of the Director. Jones emphasized that “nowhere does it say [in the By-laws] that the First Selectman has jurisdiction.”

Concerns were raised that 1st Selectman Todd Carusillo had hired library personnel despite being informed of the Board’s expectation to review applications. Miller, describing email communication from Board members to Carusillo, stated, “irregardless (sic) he ignored our desire and authority and then notified us that he made a hire without us.” She added that Carusillo had been “pretty aggressive with overriding our authority” and asked Town Clerk Barbara Breor to describe the options available to a Board when a 1st Selectman disregards its direction.

Breor suggested the State Attorney General’s office as the proper channel for recourse. The Board voted to reserve its right to contact the Attorney General, “just so [Carusillo] stops.”

Miller said “The selectmen knew that our intent was not to abdicate our authority” as outlined in the By-laws. She continued, “He should be able to recognize that, it’s a pretty simple municipal issue.” Jones added, “We did not cede our authority.”

The Goshen News followed up with requests to Carusillo, Jones and Horvay to comment on these allegations. Horvay responded “You will have to ask the Board of Directors the above questions.”

We asked Jones how she reconciled her statement that authority was not ceded with the vote taken at the May 21st Library Board meeting in which the motion that was passed stated:

“The First Selectman of Goshen shall be the sole immediate supervisor of the Library Director. Strike supervisory function from Library Board President.”

We asked if that wording was an error on the part of the Library Board, which is now being reversed.

“Yes, we made a mistake,” Jones responded, speaking for herself rather than as a Board spokesperson. “Our intention was only to remove the Board President as the immediate supervisor, and leave the 1st Selectman only as the administrative supervisor (as written in the library director’s job description). We never meant to place the 1st Selectman as the Supervisor.”

“We really believed that we were not ceding our authority, and we certainly did not intend to,” Jones continued, “but I understand why others believed we did. Our mistake was in not being clearer.”

Asked about her current understanding of the 1st Selectman’s HR role, Jones wrote: “I believe we are now all on the same page. Todd and I have talked a lot about what our responsibilities are.”

In Carusillo’s comments, he wrote: “They made the motion to give me supervisory powers, but didn’t like me firing that last Library Director, so they voted to reverse their vote.”

Regarding the allegation that he was overriding Board authority by making a hire without Board involvement, he explained: “We were short staffed, the Library Board were dragging their feet, I made an executive decision to hire Kate Malanca to cover the library, with the understanding that she would complete her continuing ed. Kate agreed to complete her classes and to give the Boards her certificate. There’s a member of the board that hasn’t figured out yet, that it’s my responsibility to have coverage in the town hall, public works and library, I am the CEO and HR officer.”

After the executive session, the Board postponed discussion of the collection development policy until its next meeting.